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Sunday, March 20, 2005

No Shame. Period.

Posted by Tim Tagaris

By no means am I a political veteran. I have worked three campaigns in my life, and understand that I am very far from "having seen it all." At the same time, I am a realist and a political cynic; rarely do I do a double-take in astonishment. But if what the Seattle Times, ABC News, and Washington Post reported today is true, I think we might currently be witnessing the most spectacular display of shamelessness and some other adjective that my 753 page thesaurus in front of me cannot even capture:

The one-page memo, distributed to Republican senators by party leaders, called the debate over Schiavo legislation "a great political issue" that would appeal to the party's base, or core, supporters. The memo singled out Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who is up for re-election next year.

"This is an important moral issue, and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue," said the memo, reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. "This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a co-sponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats."

Then there is Drudge, ripping a page right out of the National Enquirer, Sun, or Washington Times (pick your favorite tabloid rag):

DRUDGE RADIO to present audio of Terri Schiavo responding to her father on Friday, immediately following the removal of her feeding tube.... Check local listings...

There is no shortage of irony in this story. The biggest chunk to strike me is the fact that Medicaid is footing most of the bill to keep Terry Schiavo alive.

Posted at 10:41 PM in 2006 Elections, 2006 Elections - Senate, Florida | Technorati